Research Paper on America's Journey: From George Washington to the Present Day

Introduction

The American history is complicated and vast, thus being broken into periods which unified, divided and changed the United States into its current state. The issues which were essential during the early years of the United States were individual versus group rights, big versus small government, controlled versus the free markets and the connections with other nations. During 1700-1799, soldier and American politician George Washington was elected as the first United States president in 1789. George Washington served for two terms, and at the start of the 1790s, industrial revolutions were introduced in the United States. Industrial revolution altered the focus of the American economy and how it manufactured its products. During the 1800s, the American civil war made the United States divide into Southern and Northern States. The battle which occurred in 1861-1865 united the United States, thus ending slavery. Therefore, due to the different periods which were experienced in the early years of the United States, this paper will focus on the United States history and the most significant period in defining the USA.

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Before the arrival of Europeans, the Indians had inhabited the Western Hemisphere. The Indians had come from Asia and settled into North America, and later they spread to the South American tip. Six thousand years back, another Asian group called the Inuit inhabited the Western hemisphere and then spread across the arctic. After the Asians, the Vikings arrived in America making them the first whites to settle in the American soils (O'Connor 2009). The Indians lived in Mexico, and the end of South America before Columbus discovered the new world. The American Indians formed different tribes which had a diverse way of life and used various languages (Pessen 2017). Some examples of Indian tribes were the Inca, Aztec, and Maya, which developed an advanced civilization. These tribes formed magnificent cities where they accumulated jewels, gold, diamond and other riches. The American Indians lived in small villages, grew crops such as gourds, maize, beans and hunted wild animals. Some of the Indian tribes assisted the early European settlers to live and survive in New World. Therefore, as the European colonists moved westwards, they threatened the Indian Americans leading to hostility.

About 1000 A.D. Vikings who originated from Greenland had already explored the North American mainland which is currently termed as Canada or Newfoundland. The voyages of Viking were forgotten since they had not developed any permanent structure. In the 1400s' the European settlers were interested in finding the sea route which led to the Far East a place with valuable goods and spices. Columbus, who was financed by the Spanish queen and king he sailed westward to find the shortest route (Pessen 2017). Before Columbus died, he established three other settlements on the Western Hemisphere. He believed he had discovered a new continent and he named it the Other World. The European settlers referred to this area of America, which was after Amerigo Vespucci.

Consequently, the discovery of America created a wave of excitement among the Europeans since it offered different opportunities for adventure, wealth and power. The Europeans merchants started wanting to control the resources in America, thus accumulating more wealth. The European rulers seek to increase strength while the clergymen wished to spread their religions to the American Indians. In the 1500s, the Portuguese and Spanish spread out to search for riches and gold in the Western Hemisphere. The Portuguese controlled current Brazil and the Spaniards conquered the Aztec of Mexico, Inca of Peru and Maya of Central America (Pessen 2017). In 1500, the French and English started exploring east North America where they sent the fur traders and explorers to view the New World. In 1600, these settlers developed permanent structures in Canada and other thirteen colonies which formed the United States. The two provinces that are France and Britain struggled to rule the land which existed between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, after the seven years' war, Britain won the fight in 1763.

In the 1790s, the United States experienced an increase in the opposing political parties. The Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists opposed each other since one party supported democracy and the other one autocracy. The New Hampshire was the ninth state in 1788 to support the federal constitution. After elections were held in 1788 and 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States. George Washington and his vice president Adams were the representatives of the Federalist Party that became resisted by the autocrats (O'Connor 2009). The Federalist government adhered to the social hierarchy notion despite overthrowing the British rule in the United States. Political participation among the Federalist government was connected to the property rights, which prevented American citizens from holding or voting their representative in office.

Additionally, the Constitution architects committed themselves to lead the new republic since they were the majority in the current national government. Alexander Hamilton was chosen as the secretary of the treasury and Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state. In 1789, the Judiciary Act was passed, and it led to the development of the Supreme Court that consisted of six justices. Under the 1789 Tariff Act, Congress passed a significant legislation on all imports (Doddington 776). The Tariff Act was to facilitate the government in raising revenue which was to address the nation's economic challenges. The Congress in the 1780s, placed a custom duty on all foreign ships which anchored on the American, thus promoting the American goods and vessels.

In the 1800 election, there was a revolution where power was transferred from one party to the next. Thomas Jefferson was elected in 1800, and the Democratic-Republican started ruling the United States. The peaceful transition promoted peace in the United States despite the fear of possible aggressions concerning a foreign taking leadership. Jefferson saw the participatory democracy as an advantage for the citizens. The participatory democracy was felt by the white Yeoman farmers where the president placed significant trust. The American farmer was encouraged by the participatory democracy to make wise decisions which could improve food production in the country. After Jefferson was re-elected in 1804, he turned away from urban commercial development. Jefferson promoted agriculture in the United States by selling the western public land at low and affordable prices. In 1812, the United States went back to war due to unresolved issues between Great Britain and the United States (Doddington 782). The British practice of impressment was the major factor which led to the emergence of the Second World War. Although Jefferson tried to avoid the war by entangling alliances, the war did not end.

Therefore, the 1800-1865 period can allow one to gain an understanding of the United States. During this period, there emerged the Second World War between Great Britain and the United States. Also, this era promoted the development of industrialization in the United States, which led to the formation of class divisions. For example, by 1830s, America had formed a thriving commercial and industrial sector which created employment to its population. Due to the change in economic life, this period created new class divisions which resulted in social and economic inequalities. Therefore, this period can help an individual to gain more knowledge concerning the United States since it was an era of inventions.

Works Cited

Doddington, David. "Informal economies and masculine hierarchies in slave communities of the U.S. South, 1800-1865." Gender and History 27.3 (2015): 773-787.

O'Connor, Alice. Poverty Knowledge: Social science, social policy, and the poor in twentieth-century U.S. history. Vol. 59. Princeton University Press, 2009.

Pessen, Edward. Riches, Class, and Power: The United States Before the Civil War. Routledge, 2017.